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Fantasy Summary

Well-rounded, hardworking forward who plays with pace. Has potential as a complementary top-six forward or strong third-liner at the NHL level.


Observations

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March 2024 – The Halifax Mooseheads head into the playoffs led, as they have been all year, by top five QMJHL point scorer Cataford. Complemented by undrafted center Markus Vidicek, Cataford has taken the keys from Jordan Dumais (CBJ) as the go-to scorer for the Mooseheads for much of this season, due to Dumais’ absence. In doing so, Cataford has continued to demonstrate a high motor paired with high offensive awareness, a combination that has helped him to thrive in juniors when paired with skilled linemates. Time will tell how well Cataford is able to drive play at the next level, but for his D+1 season, there is not much else that could be asked out of the recent third rounder. Taylor Davis

 

June 2023 – Cataford was selected 77th overall by the Golden Knights. Pat Quinn

 

December 2022 – Drafted 6th overall in the 2021 QMJHL draft, Cataford has steadily grown into a prominent role with the Halifax Mooseheads. He notched 17 goals and 29 assists in 62 games in his first year with the Mooseheads, earning a selection to the QMJHL’s All-Rookie Team and also represented Canada at last summer’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup, playing a depth role on the way to a gold medal victory. Regularly suiting up on Halifax’s top line, he has taken his production and overall impact to another level in his draft year and has nearly matched last season’s point total less than halfway through the campaign.

Cataford might not have the flash and dash that his linemate Jordan Dumais has, but he uses his well-rounded skillset to be an impactful member of one of the QMJHL’s most dangerous units. His combination of intelligence and work ethic put him in the right place at the right time with consistency, and he processes the game at a high level, allowing him to execute under pressure and with pace. Cataford has a keen sense of timing to find soft spots in coverage, either as a primary shooting option or as a safety valve for his teammates to alleviate pressure and sustain the possession. His quick hands show up around the net where he has good one-touch finishing ability, and he has a knack for boxing out opposing defenders in and around the blue paint in order to finish rebound chances. He does some of his best work off the cycle and along the boards, where he uses his body to effectively separate and protect pucks from opposing defenders, but he also has the requisite vision and skill to quickly pull pucks off the wall and take them to middle ice or hit an open teammate with a crisp pass. Cataford has also proven to be a reliable two-way player who consistently supports the play in all three zones, rarely making a low-percentage play or cheating for offense. He may never be a primary offensive driver at the NHL level but he does all the little things well and has enough skill to be a strong complementary piece on a line with more talented players. Cataford may not be as dynamic as some other highly-ranked forwards in the 2023 draft class, but his ability to string plays together with intelligent positioning and quick reads is highly translatable, giving him a relatively safe floor as an NHL prospect. Nick Richard

Attributes
Fantasy Upside 5.5
NHL Certainty 6.5
Country CAN
Position RW
Roster Type Junior
Shoot/Glove Right
Date of Birth March 1, 2005
Height 5‘11”
Weight 187 lbs
Drafted No

Stats

 Season Team League GP G A TP PIM      Playoffs GP G A TP PIM 
 2014-2015 Montréal Ice StormBrick Invitational6 5 49 12|        
 2017-2018 CCL Dynamiques M15 AAAQM15AAA7 2 24 0|        
  CCL Dynamiques QC Int PW3 2 13 4|        
 2018-2019 CCL Dynamiques M15 AAA EQM15AAA E30 16 2036 6|        
 2019-2020 CCL Dynamiques M15 AAA EQM15AAA E25 14 1529 14|        
  CCL Dynamiques M17 AAAQM17AAA3 0 11 2|        
 2020-2021 Coll. Charles-Lemoy. RiverainsQM18AAA0 0 00 0|        
 2021-2022 Halifax MooseheadsQMJHL62 17 2946 30|Playoffs5 4 15
 2022-2023 Canada U18Hlinka Gretzky Cup5 0 11 2|        
  Halifax MooseheadsQMJHL68 31 4475 66|Playoffs21 5 813
 2023-2024 Halifax MooseheadsQMJHL65 40 5090 33|        

Highlights